LAW 1: A robot may not harm a human or, by inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.

LAW 3: A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the first or second law.

The year is 2035 and all is well, robots coincide with human existence to create a rewarding if somewhat technological dependant future. The story of “I, Robot” is shown through the eyes of ‘robophobic’ detective Del Spooner (Will Smith in usual ‘Box Office’ mode) who is called to the apparent suicide of father of robotics Dr. Alfred Lanning (James Cromwell) at USR (U.S Robotics) the largest company on the planet which supplies the world with its robots in all shapes and sizes. After being aquatinted with company owner and richest man in the world Lawrence Robertson (Bruce Greenwood) and robot psychologist Susan Clavin (Bridget Moynahan) and looking around the crime scene, Spooner has reason to believe that the suicide is a homicide, committed by a robot. His prime suspect is a robot who calls himself Sonny (Adam Tudyk); a robot seemingly unique compared to the others in his class.

“Saying that I told you so… don’t quite say it.”

Bridget Moynahan seems distant at first but slowly warms to Smith and overall puts in a decent supporting, smart alec sidekick performance. Pleasant viewing especially when we get acting veterans Bruce Greenwood (“Thirteen Days”) and James Cromwell “LA Confidential”) in the mix, both of whom perform to their usual high standard. And let us not forget Alan Tudyk who plays the conflicting robot in question: Sonny. Yes an actual actor played the part, using similar computer rendering as “The Lord Of The Ring’s” Gollum, Tudyk (the man can be seen in the flesh in “Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story”) wore a green, motion capture suit so that his flesh and blood counterparts could have someone to act against instead of a strategically placed tennis ball on a piece of string. His performance (unsurprisingly) is perhaps the best, a physical challenge and endurance test for any actor.

Having said that we are subject to some ‘in your face effects’, errrr… One MTV style slow motion shot too many I’m afraid, usually of shattering glass or a near miss bullet. We get to see a new effect/camera trick that for once isn’t bullet-time but admittedly has similarities. Every so often we get a hyperactive rotating shot of a character (usually Will Smith’s) and the general chaos and carnage around him. Instead of flowing around him it orbits above and below with the result being fairly nauseating and no apparent benefit for having such a shot, but hey, it looks good…

Fans of novelist Isaac Asimov’s book of the same title may think differently as the only things in common with the two; like I mentioned earlier; is the title. Hence the clever use of “Suggested by” instead of “Based on Isaac Asimov’s book” in the credits. This basically means that the screenwriters used Asimov’s idea about ‘The Three Laws’ and that’s about it. So does this film do any justice to Asimov’s renowned literature legacy? Perhaps not. It probably would’ve been better as a darker, more adult film. Will Smith’s Hollywood credentials don’t exactly benefit his character’s potentially compelling attributes; however, I’m willing to bet that a lesser known actor could’ve pulled it off much better. That is of course if Proyas went down a more familiar filmmaking path to start with and created a futuristic film-noir world with mood and soul instead of the more multiplex friendly metropolis which was opted for, it being one of the 2004’s big films and everything…

BOTTOM LINE
“I, Robot” is serious fun to watch, with some of the best special effects you’ll ever see. Its compelling story scores it lots of points only for them to be wiped out by its sellout nature. Smith bodes well as does the rest of the cast in Alex Proyas’s spectacular but by the numbers futuristic setting, which boasts a strange relevance instead of ray guns and laser swords. A great popcorn film but sadly doesn’t really do Isaac Asimov’s writing any justice whereas a smaller, lower budget film (familiar territory to the likes of Proyas) probably would’ve been more beneficial. We do though, receive a decent script, which runs at fairly exciting pace from the outset. Fun for all the family and recommended for a decent night in but its famous concept shouldn’t have been wasted in a two-dimensional summer blockbuster, but hey it still does a good job satisfying the popcorn crowd and sci.fi followers of today’s world. A worthy addition to cinema’s back catalogue of robot movies, hanging out with the likes of “The Terminator”, “RoboCop”, that Johnny Five robot from “Short Circuit” and “The Transformers”… god bless those large vehicles of mass destruction and the eighties nostalgia they bring back to the senses…

CAUTION
Some moderate bad language
Some mild sexual references
Some moderate sci.fi violence